Wands

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Wands are sticks of wood with cores made of various magical substances. Wizards use wands to channel and concentrate their magic; thus, wands are essential for casting spells, and a Disarmed wizard is in much greater danger than one with a wand. There are many different types of woods and cores used, as well as several wandmakers, each of whom brings a different touch to the wands they create. No two wands are alike (PS5, GF18).

Wands are specific to the wizard who uses them; though witches and wizards may inherit wands from their siblings or parents (e.g. Ron Weasley inherited his brother Charlie's wand (PS6), Neville Longbottom used his father's wand until he broke it during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries (OP35)), one will never get as good of a result with another wizard's wand. (An exception to this rule is the Elder Wand, which has changed masters several times through history, typically passing from one owner to another through bloodshed, and worked equally well for all of its rightful owners (DH21).) However, the wand chooses the wizard, and it may take a particularly long time to find the wand best suited to an individual. From the moment a wizard finds his or her wand, he or she usually feels an affinity with the wand, feeling a sense of warmth and completeness; when waving the wand for the first time, it also tends to produce brilliant sparks (PS5).

Little is known about wands and how they work; wandlore is one of the most difficult branches of magic. Wands have different temperaments, depending on their construction and components; different wands suit different functions (e.g. Lily Evans's first wand was excellent for Charms work, while James Potter's wand was of a construction that favoured Transfiguration) (PS5).

The core of a wand is particularly important to its magical function; when two wands whose cores come from the same place (twin cores or brother wands) are used against each other, they form a connection and may force each other to regurgitate their last spells; this effect is known as Priori Incantatem. Visually, it looks as if a golden thread connects the two wands, with beads along the thread, which move in the direction of one wand or the other—the beads seem to be the catalyst for the Priori Incantatem effect (GF34).

Wandmakers also believe that when a wand is forcefully taken from its owner, either physically or through Disarming, the wand changes its allegiance, answering to the wizard who won it; it will, however, not work as well as the user's original wand (DH24).